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Productivitydocker-ready100% FOSS🟡 Standard · ~1GB

Huly: Open Source alternative to Linear in 2026

Huly is an all-in-one platform that combines project management, team chat and documents, designed as a joint replacement for Linear, Notion and Slack in a single self-hostable app.

ℹ️ This single-container docker-compose doesn't match how Huly is actually deployed: the hardcoreeng/huly image doesn't exist, and the real project is ~10 independent microservices orchestrated by the official installer. Use huly-selfhost (github.com/hcengineering/huly-selfhost) for a deployment that actually works — we aren't rewriting that topology here without being able to verify it service by service.

Alternative to LinearAlternative to NotionAlternative to Slack
License AGPL-3.011k stars(estimated)Website GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

  • License — Not verifiable on GitHub

  • GitHub — No live data

  • Latest release — Not available

  • Docker Compose — Not verified

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

Huly vs. Linear

Pros

  • Replaces three different SaaS tools with a single deployment

Things to consider

  • Young project, integration ecosystem still limited
  • This catalog's docker-compose isn't deployable as-is (see note above) — use the official huly-selfhost installer

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on Linear.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
version: "3.9"
services:
  huly:
    image: hardcoreeng/huly:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8087:8087"
    environment:
      - MONGO_URL=mongodb://huly-db:27017
      - SECRET=change-me-super-secret
    depends_on:
      - huly-db
  huly-db:
    image: mongo:7
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - huly_mongo_data:/data/db
volumes:
  huly_mongo_data:

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=huly" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

We couldn't read the repository's recent activity from GitHub right now.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
AGPL-3.0
Category
Productivity
Replaces
Linear, Notion, Slack
Tech stack
RustReactMongoDB

Under the hood

Database

MongoDB

Language

TypeScript

Platforms

Web · Desktop (Mac/Win/Linux)

Key features

  • Linear-style issues and projects
  • Team chat and channels
  • Collaborative documents

Preview

Huly interface preview

Public image provided by Huly on its own website.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8087
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy